Nonstop flight route between Istres, France and Yakima, Washington, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France and Yakima Air Terminal (YKM), Yakima, Washington, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,378 miles (or 8,655 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Yakima Air Terminal, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Istres-Le Tubé Air Base and Yakima Air Terminal. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Istres-Le Tubé Air Base's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The furthest airport from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (meaning Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,364 miles (19,898 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The main USAAF use of Istres was by the 64th Troop Carrier Group, which operated C-47 Skytrain transports from the airfield from September to November 1944.
• The closest airport to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of QIE.
• Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
• In addition to being known as "Istres-Le Tubé Air Base", another name for QIE is "Base aérienne 125 Istres (BA 125)Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-17".
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.

Facts about Yakima Air Terminal (YKM):

• In addition to being known as "Yakima Air Terminal", another name for YKM is "McAllister Field".
• Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) has 2 runways.
• The closest airport to Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) is Vagabond Army Heliport (closed to fixed-wing aircraft) (FCT), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) NNE of YKM.
• The airport is also home to Cub Crafters, a manufacturer of light sport and light utility aircraft.
• Yakima Air Terminal is a public airport three miles south of Yakima, in Yakima County, Washington.
• The furthest airport from Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,797 miles (17,377 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• This airport is in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which called it as a primary commercial service airport.Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 69,835 passenger boardings in calendar year 2008, 60,028 in 2009 and 53,832 in 2010.
• During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces.